In retrospect, this letter should be of no surprise to you. For years now I have stood by you despite the terrible things people have said. We have always managed to work through our serious problems but too many things have been swept under the table. I do not think I can stand (idly) by you any longer.
What's that? No, another service pack will not help, not this time.
I remember when we met, a warm April day, in 1992. For years I had been hearing about you, about your graphical user interface, innovations, and problems in the courtroom... I had seen you here and there, but it was not until that fateful day, April 6, that our relationship became serious. Though you had changed with the times, never like this. I was almost knocked off my feet when I first saw you. Right then I knew it, you had to be mine. Who else could offer me what you could? I wanted, no, I needed, your TrueType font support, your video playback capability, your color screen savers...
As time progressed so did my needs. Our affair took its next serious step on August 24, 1995. At the time I thought our happiness would never end. You brought me places I never thought possible. How could I refuse your Plug-and-Play cabability or your TCP/IP stack? I mean, you gave up your best friend, DOS, so our relationship could progress unhindered. It hurts me to look back at us, two starry-eyed lovers wanting nothing more than each other's company.
Then it almost all came tumbling down. June 25, 1998. What were you thinking? Were you thinking at all? You changed, like in 1995, but not like I thought you would. Still clinging to your DOS kernel, like a small, lost child clutching its teddy bear. Where was the OS I had learned to love? You feebly proffered USB support, DVD playback, and a Quick Launch toolbar, but you were beginning to mix with a bad crowd. With that invasive Internet Explorer. I knew about what happened... You let him access your Explorer. I thought that was something special between us.
Though we had a bit of a falling out afterwards, my love was rekindled after February 17th, 2000. You were once again new- Professional- just like I thought you could one day be. I knew you were once again stable, not like back in 1998, and that you were the only OS for me. I remembered what had drawn me you you in the first place- ease of use, speed, your stunning looks, your compatibility. I remember saying, "I hope things never change because I love you the way you are."
I thought that what we had meant something- your transformation in 2000 seemed to cement that. I know now that I was wrong. By Sept 17 you tried to change for the Millennium. I saw right through you- trying to settle down and fit in better with the 'home-user'. Did you think I would love you more because of a few cosmetic changes? I was not impressed with the full-color icons, fancy skins, or your new media player. I thought what we had was deeper than that. Luckily you gave me a choicer, I did not have to choose the new you, the old version would be fine. I know you meant well but you just shouldn't have done that, especially with the '1998' episode so fresh in my mind.
By October 25, 2001 more changes had come. Everyone told be how great the new you would be. I got so tired of hearing about how up to date, easy to work with, and slick looking you had become. That was all I could take. You changed so much that I didn't even know you any more. I really dug some of your new features but the old you, the you from 2000, could have done all this. So why did you have to change at all? I didn't want to upgrade you or make you into something you were not.
Well, like I wrote, I have reached my limit. Its going to take more than an automatic update to fix our relationship. I just don't feel like I know you anymore. For example, do you know what I found on the computer a few days ago? Spyware! I wonder who let that in...
Windows, I know you will try to change, but I have been hurt too many times. You should know that I have been seeing someone else for a few months now. She is fun, easy going, and will do something for me that you never even considered, share her source code.
I don't know what else to say- we had a good run, but now its over. Pack up your Media Player, your browser, hell, take Minesweeper if you have to. I am sure see each other from time to time but I know one thing, I'll never again have to depend on you.
Even though it is cool that you provided the article after it got slashdotted, there is no reason why your karma (as unimportant as it is) should be upped for doing so.
Your post is a great example of what is wrong with the moderation system. People treat mod points as PERSONAL rewards and punishments. Mod points should more properly be viewed as rewards and punishments FOR THE POST.
The post WAS informative. The site was dotted, and I wanted to read it. Thankfully, someone did.
True, it would have been more elegant if the poster had gone AC for it, but the fact that the guy may have been a whore in no way makes the post any less 'informative'.
But you, and others, will go ahead and use points to 'punish' people for being dicks. Go ahead, and be my guest. I, on the other hand, will use mod points as I belive they are intended: to allow users to separate the wheat from the chaff, should they so choose.
I still use it. Daily. For schematic capture, PCB layout, and cross-assembler/DSP C/C++ stuff.
You see, I understand the file formats on these old files. And I know exactly how the programs work. And these programs were coded in a day where the programs would run on just about any machine you dropped them in. ( Mine require 386-16SX or higher, and are plenty fast on the minimal machine, albeit they now all are running in Pentiums for so much overkill it ain't funny.)
Exactly! That is why I was so comfortable using DOS tools.
I have known for a long time that I was going to have to leave the Microsoft operating environments because I had work to do... I could not spend a helluva lot of time farting around with my tools. I feel if I stay with a Microsoft system, I will become like a gardener who spends all day trying to get his fancy power saw to cut a branch off a tree, and having to compete with the neighbor kid with a simple bow saw which would go through the branch
( Yes, it once had a dongle, but being the dongle was incompatible with the newer high-speed parallel ports, I had to fix it because they wouldn't - I had *bought* the software, so by golly I had to protect my investment. It was the frustration of removing that damned thing that taught me the value of the sales term "customer support", as I felt I, like the software I had purchased, had been abandoned. They were just u
author:[q]You let him access your Explorer. I thought that was something special between us.[/q]
m$w:hey but then by that time you were forcing me into two somes with that naughty grub & linux !!
That was bad, really really bad,..
how could i ever forgive u ??
In retrospect, this letter will be of complete surprise to you. For years I have stood by you, no matter how needy you have been. The time required has destroyed my once happy, fun filled life. I used to have friends, but you took them all away. You're just too high maintainence.
We tried many different fashions to see if you'd change... from hats to french laungerie. But you were always the same, time consuming woman who wouldn't let me live my life. And boy are you fucking ugly. I've had to learn the magical mysterious of Hollywood make-up to make you look good in the past, although recently you've gotten a bit better at looking sexy without days of my undivided attention.
There were good times. You were reliable, always around, always available. You were open and honest, and I could see into the very depths of your soul. But you were antisocial, getting anything to work with you was a chore and I've just about had enough of fighting with configuration files to get the most basic peripherals to work with you.
Perhaps, when you've become more friendly, and you work just as well in your various styles, we can be one again.
For now I'm off to that flashy babe Windows. She might be an expensive, unreliable whore, but she looks stunning and good in bed. (Can you go to bed with a computer?) Though I'll be back when she breaks my heart.
(I would go with that super model MacOS X but she's out of my league - my wallet is only 'so' fat.)
Fuck it. All the effort has to be worth something. I'll stick it out to see if, as they say year on year, this will be the year of the Linux desktop... the year it becomes easy. They have been saying it since 1997 but they can't be eternally wrong... can they?
For now I'm off to that flashy babe Windows. She might be an expensive, unreliable whore, but she looks stunning and good in bed. (...) Though I'll be back when she breaks my heart.
You probably won't be back anywhere, ever.
She's known to have had some 500 million guys, who've given her every virus or worm there is, and by the time you realize what a contagious beast she was, you'll have contracted so much more than both of you wished to share.
Sure, there are rumors about that new miracle drug, SP3, that'
Dear C,
I am sorry to hear of the difficulties understanding my ways. I only offered you so many options so that I could try and work the way you wanted me to. Not everyone understands my flexibility.
I wish you success with your new babe called Windows. I understand that she is very strict and will only let you perform the functions that she wants you to perform. I also hear that she is very possesive and will try and stop you talking to others not like her and if you do she will show you her nasty blue side. Not wanting to slag her off I should warn you that she has a habbit of letting others use her, command her to do things you may not like, like giving out your credit card details, using the CPU cycle you paid for to send hundreds of emails to strangers and to allow others to perform criminal acts.
So this is the end. Maybe one day you will come back and enjoy my freedoms.
Ah Windows, How can I forget the first time that I saw you, in 1988, immature and overdressed like a 16 year old street-walker. The sparkle was eye-catching, but I knew that there was not enought maturity to keep me interested.
It was years later before I had you thrust apon me again. An old friend of mine needed to use my 386sx to edit a Word document on, so he loaded up a mountain of diskettes and left you behind. Sure, it was fun at first with Solataire and, uh, solataire... But you got in the way and I wa
Article Text (Score:4, Informative)
In retrospect, this letter should be of no surprise to you. For years now I have stood by you despite the terrible things people have said. We have always managed to work through our serious problems but too many things have been swept under the table. I do not think I can stand (idly) by you any longer.
What's that? No, another service pack will not help, not this time. I remember when we met, a warm April day, in 1992. For years I had been hearing about you, about your graphical user interface, innovations, and problems in the courtroom... I had seen you here and there, but it was not until that fateful day, April 6, that our relationship became serious. Though you had changed with the times, never like this. I was almost knocked off my feet when I first saw you. Right then I knew it, you had to be mine. Who else could offer me what you could? I wanted, no, I needed, your TrueType font support, your video playback capability, your color screen savers...
As time progressed so did my needs. Our affair took its next serious step on August 24, 1995. At the time I thought our happiness would never end. You brought me places I never thought possible. How could I refuse your Plug-and-Play cabability or your TCP/IP stack? I mean, you gave up your best friend, DOS, so our relationship could progress unhindered. It hurts me to look back at us, two starry-eyed lovers wanting nothing more than each other's company.
Then it almost all came tumbling down. June 25, 1998. What were you thinking? Were you thinking at all? You changed, like in 1995, but not like I thought you would. Still clinging to your DOS kernel, like a small, lost child clutching its teddy bear. Where was the OS I had learned to love? You feebly proffered USB support, DVD playback, and a Quick Launch toolbar, but you were beginning to mix with a bad crowd. With that invasive Internet Explorer. I knew about what happened... You let him access your Explorer. I thought that was something special between us.
Though we had a bit of a falling out afterwards, my love was rekindled after February 17th, 2000. You were once again new- Professional- just like I thought you could one day be. I knew you were once again stable, not like back in 1998, and that you were the only OS for me. I remembered what had drawn me you you in the first place- ease of use, speed, your stunning looks, your compatibility. I remember saying, "I hope things never change because I love you the way you are."
I thought that what we had meant something- your transformation in 2000 seemed to cement that. I know now that I was wrong. By Sept 17 you tried to change for the Millennium. I saw right through you- trying to settle down and fit in better with the 'home-user'. Did you think I would love you more because of a few cosmetic changes? I was not impressed with the full-color icons, fancy skins, or your new media player. I thought what we had was deeper than that. Luckily you gave me a choicer, I did not have to choose the new you, the old version would be fine. I know you meant well but you just shouldn't have done that, especially with the '1998' episode so fresh in my mind.
By October 25, 2001 more changes had come. Everyone told be how great the new you would be. I got so tired of hearing about how up to date, easy to work with, and slick looking you had become. That was all I could take. You changed so much that I didn't even know you any more. I really dug some of your new features but the old you, the you from 2000, could have done all this. So why did you have to change at all? I didn't want to upgrade you or make you into something you were not.
Well, like I wrote, I have reached my limit. Its going to take more than an automatic update to fix our relationship. I just don't feel like I know you anymore. For example, do you know what I found on the computer a few days ago? Spyware! I wonder who let that in...
Windows, I know you will try to change, but I have been hurt too many times. You should know that I have been seeing someone else for a few months now. She is fun, easy going, and will do something for me that you never even considered, share her source code.
I don't know what else to say- we had a good run, but now its over. Pack up your Media Player, your browser, hell, take Minesweeper if you have to. I am sure see each other from time to time but I know one thing, I'll never again have to depend on you.
Yours no longer,
S C
Re:Article Text (Score:5, Insightful)
Your post is a great example of what is wrong with the moderation system. People treat mod points as PERSONAL rewards and punishments. Mod points should more properly be viewed as rewards and punishments FOR THE POST.
The post WAS informative. The site was dotted, and I wanted to read it. Thankfully, someone did.
True, it would have been more elegant if the poster had gone AC for it, but the fact that the guy may have been a whore in no way makes the post any less 'informative'.
But you, and others, will go ahead and use points to 'punish' people for being dicks. Go ahead, and be my guest. I, on the other hand, will use mod points as I belive they are intended: to allow users to separate the wheat from the chaff, should they so choose.
Re:Article Text (Score:1)
Re:Article Text (Score:2, Insightful)
I still use it. Daily. For schematic capture, PCB layout, and cross-assembler/DSP C/C++ stuff.
You see, I understand the file formats on these old files. And I know exactly how the programs work. And these programs were coded in a day where the programs would run on just about any machine you dropped them in. ( Mine require 386-16SX or higher, and are plenty fast on the minimal machine, albeit they now all are running in Pentiums for so much overkill it ain't funny.)
The big draw for
How you say...? (Score:2)
Re:How you say...? (Score:1)
I have known for a long time that I was going to have to leave the Microsoft operating environments because I had work to do... I could not spend a helluva lot of time farting around with my tools. I feel if I stay with a Microsoft system, I will become like a gardener who spends all day trying to get his fancy power saw to cut a branch off a tree, and having to compete with the neighbor kid with a simple bow saw which would go through the branch
Re:I still use [DOS]. Daily. (Score:1)
PCB Layout = PADS 7 for DOS ( Last DOS release )
( Yes, it once had a dongle, but being the dongle was incompatible with the newer high-speed parallel ports, I had to fix it because they wouldn't - I had *bought* the software, so by golly I had to protect my investment. It was the frustration of removing that damned thing that taught me the value of the sales term "customer support", as I felt I, like the software I had purchased, had been abandoned. They were just u
Re:Article Text (Score:5, Funny)
Windows attention span isn't that long.
Re:Article Text (Score:5, Funny)
PPS - Yes, SP2 *does* make you look fat.
Re:Article Text (Score:5, Funny)
m$w:hey but then by that time you were forcing me into two somes with that naughty grub & linux !! That was bad, really really bad,..
how could i ever forgive u ??
Reply to SC (Score:5, Funny)
S C
Dear S C,
I didn't give a fuck about you anyway -- already took all your money AND made you look like an idiot - what woman can possibly want more?
Sincerely,
Ms. Windows
Re:Reply to SC (Score:2)
Re:Reply to SC (Score:3, Funny)
"Oh, by the way... I faked all my blue screens !"
Re:Article Text (Score:5, Funny)
As time progressed so did my needs. Our affair took its next serious step on August 24, 1995.
I think I need a shower...
Re:Article Text (Score:5, Funny)
In retrospect, this letter will be of complete surprise to you. For years I have stood by you, no matter how needy you have been. The time required has destroyed my once happy, fun filled life. I used to have friends, but you took them all away. You're just too high maintainence.
We tried many different fashions to see if you'd change... from hats to french laungerie. But you were always the same, time consuming woman who wouldn't let me live my life. And boy are you fucking ugly. I've had to learn the magical mysterious of Hollywood make-up to make you look good in the past, although recently you've gotten a bit better at looking sexy without days of my undivided attention.
There were good times. You were reliable, always around, always available. You were open and honest, and I could see into the very depths of your soul. But you were antisocial, getting anything to work with you was a chore and I've just about had enough of fighting with configuration files to get the most basic peripherals to work with you.
Perhaps, when you've become more friendly, and you work just as well in your various styles, we can be one again.
For now I'm off to that flashy babe Windows. She might be an expensive, unreliable whore, but she looks stunning and good in bed. (Can you go to bed with a computer?) Though I'll be back when she breaks my heart.
(I would go with that super model MacOS X but she's out of my league - my wallet is only 'so' fat.)
Fuck it. All the effort has to be worth something. I'll stick it out to see if, as they say year on year, this will be the year of the Linux desktop... the year it becomes easy. They have been saying it since 1997 but they can't be eternally wrong... can they?
Yours probably forever due to cash shortage,
C.
Windows whoring (Score:2, Interesting)
You probably won't be back anywhere, ever.
She's known to have had some 500 million guys, who've given her every virus or worm there is, and by the time you realize what a contagious beast she was, you'll have contracted so much more than both of you wished to share.
Sure, there are rumors about that new miracle drug, SP3, that'
Re:Article Text (Score:5, Funny)
I am sorry to hear of the difficulties understanding my ways. I only offered you so many options so that I could try and work the way you wanted me to. Not everyone understands my flexibility.
I wish you success with your new babe called Windows. I understand that she is very strict and will only let you perform the functions that she wants you to perform. I also hear that she is very possesive and will try and stop you talking to others not like her and if you do she will show you her nasty blue side. Not wanting to slag her off I should warn you that she has a habbit of letting others use her, command her to do things you may not like, like giving out your credit card details, using the CPU cycle you paid for to send hundreds of emails to strangers and to allow others to perform criminal acts.
So this is the end. Maybe one day you will come back and enjoy my freedoms.
Love,
Linux
Re:Article Text (Score:3, Funny)
How can I forget the first time that I saw you, in 1988, immature and overdressed like a 16 year old street-walker. The sparkle was eye-catching, but I knew that there was not enought maturity to keep me interested.
It was years later before I had you thrust apon me again. An old friend of mine needed to use my 386sx to edit a Word document on, so he loaded up a mountain of diskettes and left you behind.
Sure, it was fun at first with Solataire and, uh, solataire... But you got in the way and I wa
Re:Article Text (Score:1)
eject /dev/cupholder
and putting in my install CD.
Yours Truely,
Windows LowerHorn
Re:Article Text (Score:2)
OS/2 was good, but had no software.
Linux was good, but hard to keep running.
Mac OS X is just perfect.
(PS, no I'm not rich)
Re:Article Text (Score:2)